The Asia Times editorial picks of important economics, policy and market-moving stories from Chinese-language media

Ping An, a holding company that mainly deals with insurance, banking and financial services, has quashed rumours it is buying a share of Manchester United, one of the English Premier League’s top teams. “The information is false,” said Sheng Ruisheng, a spokesman with the company, stating that Ping An has not been involved in any discussions on purchasing a holding in the club. He added that Ping An CEO Ma Mingzhe has never owned any shares in the team. Previously, an article run by The Sunday Times, reported that Ping An is planning to buy a 12% stake in Manchester United’s for £270 million. The newspaper said the CEO of the company already held a 3.46% stake in the team.中国平安辟谣：从未洽购曼联股份

Effort to restrict Beijing population density

Temporary management methods on housing and common property rights have been published in Beijing for public viewing, the Economic Information Daily reported. According to the recommendations, the plot ratio for housing within the six rural districts should be lower than 2.8, with each unit smaller than 90 square meters. Restricting plot ratio means controlling population density, which is obtained by dividing the gross floor area of the building by the area of the site on which the building is erected.北京明确共有产权住房规划设计标准 城六区套型不应大于90平方米

Internet payment, credit to face stricter hurdles

The People’s Bank of China said it will include Internet financial businesses, which are large scale and display systematic characteristics, within its macro-prudential management framework and regulate them via the Macro Prudential Assessment (MPA) system, Yicai reported. Analysts believe that third-party digital payment and Internet credit are likely the first to be included and assessed by the new system.互金监管再升级：第三方支付及网贷可能最先纳入MPA

Users of internet financial projects hit 126 million

The number of Chinese netizens who have bought into internet financial projects reached 126 million by June, Yicai reported, citing research from the China Internet Network Information Center. The users rate has increased to 16.8% in June, compared to 13.5% by the end of 2016, adding 27.24 million new users. However, the earnings rate of peer-to-peer (P2P) projects via the internet decreased in the first half of 2017 due to tightened market mobility.上半年互联网理财用户达1.26亿 P2P网贷收益率波动性下调

Non-performing loans may see modest growth

Off-balance sheet activities of banking institutions hit a staggering 253.52 trillion yuan, 109.16% of the total assets on the balance sheet, arousing worries from some investors, Xinhua Finance reported, citing a report issued by the China Bank Association. Pan Guangwei, vice chairman of the association, said that non-performing loans may still see a modest increase due to asset quality problems at commercial banks, which are trying to control credit risks.银行业协会：同业业务增速将放缓 不良贷款压力可能继续小幅上升

Commercial bank assets keep growing

The total amount of assets of commercial banks in China is expected to grow at a year-on-year rate of 10% in 2017 and 2018, according to a report from the China Banking Association. The report also points out that the sluggish growth of net interest margins as well as the increasing credit cost will pose challenges to those banks’ net profits.中银协报告：今明两年银行资产规模 将保持10%增速

Approval of seven IPOs raises US$416 million

The China Securities Regulatory Commission has approved seven initial public offerings (IPOs) to raise up to 2.8 billion yuan (US$416.12 million), the Economic Information Daily reported. Three of the approved IPOs are listed on the main board of Shanghai Stock Exchange, two are on the Shenzhen small and medium enterprise board, and the other two are on the start-up ChiNext board. Some 268 IPOs have been approved in 2017, raising 135.5 billion yuan.证监会核发7家企业IPO批文 筹资总额不超过28亿元

Douban eyes overseas expansion

Douban, one of the largest social networking websites that allows users to create content about film, books, music and events in China, is planning to go public overseas, Caixin reported. Yang Bo, CEO of Douban, said the company will launch independent budgets for each of their companies from the second half of this year. The company’s last round of financing was in 2011, which totalled US$50 million.独家 | 豆瓣推独立预算 计划境外上市

Move to limit prime-time dramas

The State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) said local satellite television channels should not broadcast dramas with sensitive content or those deemed only for entertainment in prime-time slots, the Shanghai Securities News reported. SARFT encouraged local channels to add programs of public interest, culture, high tech and economy related themes to prime-time, the report added.广电总局：卫视黄金时段不得编排娱乐性较强电视剧